It is well known in the art to use packages for enclosing electronic devices, such as semiconductor chips, power semiconductor chips and the like.
Hermetically sealed devices providing connections to the enclosed device are commonly used in the art. A hermetic package arrangement of this type for large scale integrated circuits, or hybrid circuits is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,955, issued Feb. 28, 1978 to Gates, Jr. A device, such as an integrated circuit wafer, is attached to a base and a sealing ring enclosure surrounding the device is hermetically sealed to the base. The sealing ring has a greater height than the wafer. Above the device, a lid is hermetically sealed to a sealing area provided on the sealing ring. Soldering is used to secure various lid embodiments to areas to be covered and hermetically sealed on the packages. Radial leads with conventional wire bonding are disclosed for providing connections to the device.
A hermetic package for integrated circuits used in high power applications is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,3398,621, issued Jul. 6, 1982 to Braun. This shows an integrated circuit mounted on a surface of a multilayer ceramic member and wire-bonded to electrically conductive tabs near the periphery of the device. Input/output pins are provided on the exterior surface of a ceramic lid. The package includes a ceramic base member having an interior recess upon which on integrated circuit is mounted. The plurality of electrically conductive tabs is arranged about the circumference of the integrated circuit, for connection via wires bonded thereto at one end and to contact pads on the planer surface of the ceramic base member. The metallized lines are used to connect the pads to electrically conductive bosses on the exterior surface of the ceramic lid for providing input and output pins. Brazing is used to hermetically seal the input and output pins to the bosses, and solder reflow is used for sealing the base and cover members to each other. Also, solder reflow is used for establishing electrical connections between the die and the pins via the corresponding pads.
An important consideration in the design of a package enclosing a power device is the difference in the temperature coefficient of expansion of different materials that may be utilized in adjacent parts in such a package. Problems caused by such differences are alleviated by utilizing materials having temperature coefficients as well matched as possible. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,129 issued Feb. 24, 1987 to Yerman et al., for example, discloses a hermetic package including a gasket with a temperature coefficient close to that of a dielectric plate of the hermetic package. The dielectric plate has transistor electrodes on the underside thereof. Electrical access to these electrodes is provided from the top side of the dielectric plate by corresponding leads which are connected via conducting-through holes in the dielectric plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,192 issued on Mar. 17, 1987, to Matsushita et al. discloses a ceramic package for a semi-conductor integrated circuit device. The package includes an insulating substrate fabricated from a ceramic material, upon which is mounted one or more integrated circuits. An alumina ceramic cap is bonded to the ceramic substrate via a solder glass layer, for forming a hermetically sealed package. Terminals for providing electrical connections to the package are sandwiched between the cap and substrate, whereby interior ends of the terminals are electrically connected to the integrated circuit, with the other ends of the terminals being external to the package for providing signal and power connections. The particular ceramic materials used are specifically disclosed for providing very closely matched coefficients of thermal expansion.
Various other package arrangements are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,501 issued Jun. 27, 1961 to Cornelison et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,587 issued Apr. 30, 1985 to Van Dyk Soerewyn; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,826 issued Dec. 24, 1985 to Burns et al. Cornelison et al. discloses the use of a housing, including a dish-shaped metal header assembly in a lower portion, electrical leads having portions of the lead outside of the housing, and portions within the interior thereof for making electrical connection to a semiconductor element. Insulating material fills the lower portion of the header assembly for electrically isolating the leads from the metal header. The portions of the leads protruding from the housing are soldered to eyelets, for making electrical connections to printed circuit pads of a substrate. Cornelison et al. also discloses that the lower metal shell can be formed from a ceramic or glass disc with a metallic ring thereabout for bonding the housing to the disc. Van Dyk Soerewyn discloses a power semi-conductor package in a top-hat configuration, that includes an encapsulant within the cylindrical section of the enclosure about the integrated circuit assemblies mounted therein. Burns et al. discloses a hermetically sealed package for an integrated circuit (IC). The package includes the mounting of an integrated circuit on a substrate with all electrical connections to the IC made on top of the substrate to vias. The opposite side of the substrate includes leads electrically connected to leads on the opposite side for providing signal and power connections to the package. In this regard, a pedestal is included for electrically interconnecting the inner and outer leads. A sealing ring is provided about the circumference of the area in which the integrated circuit is mounted, for sealing to a ceramic cap via a sealing skirt about the circumference of the bottom edge of the cap.
It is herein recognized that the use of, for example, aluminum wire bonds for providing connections between a device, such as an IC chip in the package and outside circuitry may require that the metallization on the chip be preferably aluminum and that such a restriction may be undesirable. Furthermore, the use of wire bonds tends to introduce a relatively high parasitic inductance in the connection. It is herein also recognized that connections utilizing straps are preferable in this regard, and that top-side connection to a device is desirable. However, it is also desirable that, in meeting such requirements, the package profile be kept low and that, in so far as is possible, conventional manufacturing processes be utilizable.